Hands on & Review: GoPro Hero5 Black

The market for action cams has evolved a lot over time. With more players coming in the industry, it has become rather difficult to choose the right one. However, the pioneers of the actioncam industry, GoPro, has introduced their latest iteration of the ultimate camera, The Hero5 Black. I bought this camera in January and I have been using it along with the Hero 4 Silver. Hence, This review will briefly touch upon the comparison between the two generations of GoPro as well.

Unboxing Experience

The unboxing experience was quite similar to the previous generation of GoPro. It comes in a nice vertical box with the Hero 5 secured on the top with one of its mounts. Underneath the new matte textured Hero5 are a number of booklets which include instruction manuals, warranty information and GoPro stickers. There is also one removable battery included which has been redesigned with new charging pins and has a slightly higher capacity (1220 mAh/3.85V) than its predecessor (1160mAh/3.80V). Also included is the charging cable which has been upgraded to USB Type-C (step in the right direction).

First Impressions & User Interface

After putting everything aside and looking at the camera, the first prominent thing to notice is the newly developed 2″ capacitive touch screen. It is definitely more responsive, brighter and bigger than the Hero 4 Silver’s screen. Some new features that really makes the new Hero 5 standout include:

Voice Commands for easy control and more flexibility.

Completely waterproof body which allows the user to interact with the touch screen whilst inside its shell.

Although the resolution is still limited to 4K at 30fps, but it is also capable of recording 720P at 240 fps and 1080P at 120fps, which is great for slowmotion video recording.

The software is much more User friendly, probably due to more screen space.

The new USB type-C is definitely a welcoming change, as it makes it easier to use one cable for multiple devices.

Integration with Apple Watch makes it much easier to record and take pictures.

Room for Improvement

Although it is a significant improvement from the Hero 4 Silver, however there are still some flaws in the device

The Battery life has reduced marginally (about 10-15%), and the new battery terminal means that the Hero4 users won’t be able to use their charging accessories/batteries with the Hero5.

There are still a few glitches in the software specially regarding the Voice Command and touch screen interface.

The cost of waterproofing the body has translated into a bulkier Hero5 when placed next to its predecessor.

Verdict

After using the new GoPro for over 5 months, I can safely say that it is a worthy upgrade. However, there are a few bugs that limits the functionality of voice commands as at times it just simply ignores them. However, I am quite sure that the new software would easily solve this glitch. Furthermore, I would also much appreciate if the colors could be a bit more accurate. Nonetheless, it is definitely a significant improvement over its predecessor.

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About Our Founder

Shaheel Shahzad is the founder and top reviewer of Your Tech Dose. He has been a tech enthusiast since teenage and has a nice collection of gadgets as well. He’s a Marketing graduate with a keen interest in Photography, Gaming & Cars!